CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER ONE WHO IS A US CITIZEN a citizen is a legal member of a nation or country In the United States people become citizens by birth or by law Any person born within the United States or its territories is a citizen Children born abroad to a US parent or parents are citizens too Other people must apply to become US citizens They go through The Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York Harbor
A passport control entry gate for non-US citizens at a San Francisco California airport a process called naturalization A person must meet certain requirements to naturalize All US citizens are equal under the law regardless of how a person became a citizen Natural-born citizens have one advantage The US Constitution requires a president to be a natural born Citizen Citizens of the United States have the right to vote They have the right to fair trials They enjoy the freedoms found in the Constitution They have 6
responsibilities too The United States depends on its people Citizens make up the government They are called to serve on juries They are also expected to defend the country Types of Noncitizens Noncitizens living in the United States are legally called aliens They cannot vote They cannot hold public office at the federal level They can be removed from the country Aliens are removed from the United States every year for breaking the law Selective Service Many young men were drafted into the US military in the past The US government ended the draft in 1973 Today the US military has an all-volunteer force If a major war began and the draft started again the Selective Service System would choose and evaluate men Currently almost all men living in the United States who are 18 to 25 years old must register with the Selective Service This includes undocumented immigrants and legal permanent residents Citizens who do not register can be fined jailed or denied government benefits Immigrants who are eligible but do not register cannot naturalize for five years 7
